Due to the rise of operating frequencies in communications electronics, the requirements on measurement equipment have been constantly rising in recent years. More specifically, there is a need to constantly increase the frequency of measuring signals. A central component in measuring electronics are switchable attenuators (step attenuators). For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,489,179 B2 describes a step attenuator for high frequencies. The achievable maximum frequency there though is still limited. Also, the step attenuator shown there requires a large physical footprint.
Accordingly, there is a need for a switch, an attenuation stage and a switchable attenuator allowing for very high frequencies and at the same time only requiring a small spatial volume without incurring great construction costs.